Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Wardens of Ouza
by Jacred
Summary: A zorua awakens in a world of pokemon, remembering only her name and that she was once human. With these fragments of memory and the help of new-found friends she sets out to unlock her past - and perhaps the salvation of the broken world she travels as well.
1. Chapter 1

_You__'ve come to make a wish, haven't you?_

_Oh, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You didn't just stumble across my home, It's not that easy to find. Besides, I can see it in your face, so you might as well be honest._

_So, now that you've found me, tell me - what do you wish for?_

…

_Really? That's really, truly your wish? That's… interesting._

…

_Of course I can grant it, I was just… surprised, that's all. Now then, I want you to close your eyes, and hold that wish in your heart. Let it grow, until it feels like it'll burst out…_

_I see… it shines like the sun itself. Your wish - and your heart - is more powerful than I imagined._

_I still have my doubts, but I can see your heart is set. I shall grant this wish._

_May it lead you to happiness..._

* * *

Dark clouds swirled through the night sky above the Whistle Woods, whipped into strange and menacing shapes by the wind. Every so often the moon peeked through, but it offered only a moment's reprieve from the unrelenting darkness before it was swallowed by the clouds once more. It was a dangerous time to be, and Harvest the teddiursa knew it, but the leaf-wrapped bundle of berries in her arms was too important to leave until morning.

"Almost home," she said to herself, attempting to cheer herself up in spite of the dark woods around her. There weren't really any dangerous pokemon here, but she couldn't help but worry. A young pokemon like her, alone and carrying a bundle of food? She would be an easy target for any rogue pokemon that might pass by. Then again, being young didn't mean she was weak, and rogue pokemon were cowards, right? She, on the other hand, had a family she was fighting for, and she would be brave and wouldn't run away! Even if it meant she got hurt…

As distracted by her thoughts as she was, Harvest didn't notice that there was something in the middle of the path until it was too late. She tripped with a yelp and dropped her bundle, scattering the berries in every direction. "Ow… oh no!" she cried out as soon as she saw the mess. In a panic she began to gather the berries, but nearly tripped again in her rush. Sniffling in pain and indignation, she turned to see just what she kept bumping into, and froze.

A zorua lay in the middle of the path, apparently asleep. Harvest didn't know there were zorua anywhere on the island, let alone in Whistle Woods. She didn't know a lot about them, other than that they were dark types, and that they had the ability to disguise themselves as other pokemon. They weren't supposed to be very friendly or trustworthy. In fact, Harvest realized, this could be a trap, and somewhere out there this zorua's posse was ready to rob her. She clutched her berries close to her chest, her eyes searching the forest for any pokemon that might be lurking in the shadows. "Is… is anyone out there?"

There was no reply from the shadows, but the zorua moved and coughed loudly. Harvest backed off as the zorua slowly staggered to her feet, wavered, and fell panting to the ground again. In that moment, Harvest realized that the zorua was far from a threat to her - in fact, she seemed to be tired and injured. The thought that this was part of the zorua's trap occurred to her, but if she really _was_ injured then it wouldn't be right to just walk away.

Harvest approached the zorua, sucking on her paw with worry. "Hey, are you okay?"

The zorua shifted and one of her eyes opened slightly. "Who…"

"I'm… a friend. What happened to you?"

The zorua's ears flicked and she squeezed her eyes shut tight. "I… I can't… remember..." She tried to stand up again, this time managing to stay shakily upright. She walked a few steps towards Harvest, but collapsed before she could get too far. "I'm so tired…"

Harvest's heart ached. She didn't care if this was a trap anymore; this pokemon needed her help. She shifted the bundle of berries under one arm and walked to the zorua's side. "Here, I'll help you walk this time," she said.

The zorua stood up, and after a moment leaned against Harvest. The teddiursa grunted a bit at the weight, but she was able to handle it. She put her free hand on the zorua's back to help support her as she began to slowly lead her through the forest towards her home.

* * *

_Ow, my everything…_

Gumi opened her eyes slowly, and even that single motion seemed a monumental effort. Her entire body felt strange and stiff, and her thoughts were cloudy. A fresh, cool breeze tickled her nose, along with the scent of earth and something sweet. There was cold earth beneath her too, and as she moved to look around she saw that she was lying in the entrance of a large and cozy-looking cave.

_Where… where am I?_

"Oh, you're awake!"

A friendly but unfamiliar voice startled her and she tried to stand up to meet it, but her body refused to cooperate with her. It wasn't long though before something moved into her field of vision. It was a teddiursa, but something was off about it - were they supposed to be that big? Was she just really close? "A… pokemon?"

The teddiursa blinked, and then smiled. "Yup! I'm Harvest. Are you feeling better?"

_Wait, it can talk?_

"I… how are you talking?" she said, the words spilling out before she could stop them.

Harvest frowned, a confused look on her face. "That's a weird question. It's just the same way you're talking!" She smiled again, though she still looked slightly worried. "Is this some kind of zorua joke? I don't think I get it…"

"Zorua… what?"

"Well, you're a zorua, right? I've never seen one in Whistle Woods before, but you look just like one." Harvest scratched her head.

"What? I'm not a zorua," Gumi said, slowly managed to get onto her feet. "I'm… I'm a…"

She had gotten to her feet all right she noticed, looking down. All four furry red ones.

Gumi yelped and reared onto her hind legs, but after a moment she overbalanced and toppled over backwards.

_What's going on? Why am I… a pokemon?_

Harvest put her paws over her mouth in shock. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" She scrambled to Gumi's side and helped her upright. "Are you hurt?"

Gumi shook her head. "I'm fine… but I don't understand. I'm shouldn't be a zorua… I'm human."

Harvest's eyes widened. "A human? But how can that be? There haven't been humans on Ouza for ages!" She brought one paw to her mouth, sucking on it worriedly. "And you look like a perfectly normal pokemon to me. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, but-"

"HARVEST!"

A shout interrupted Gumi, and both pokemon turned in its direction. For a moment they saw nothing but trees outside the cave's mouth, but then another teddiursa burst from a bush, breathing raggedly and bearing a number of cuts. He looked towards them, and his eyes locked with Gumi's for a moment before he limped over to Harvest, who looked even more worried.

"Hunter, what happened? Where's mom and Blue? Why are you hurt?"

"We went… to Honey Grove, but we were attacked. I got away, but mom and Blue… they're still there," Hunter said, his voice strained.

"Attacked?" Harvest exclaimed, her paws forgotten. "But how? Miss Vespiquen never lets anyone bad into her grove."

"Harvest… we were attacked _by_ Vespiquen. She was really angry… she said we were stealing her honey."

Harvest gasped. "Mom would never steal honey, especially not from Miss Vespiquen! Something bad must have happened to her…"

"I don't know… I tried to fight her off, but I think Vespiquen hit me with a poison sting. It took all my energy just to get here… ah…" With a sigh Hunter collapsed into Harvest's arms, barely conscious.

"Hunter? Oh no…" Harvest looked around frantically for a moment and then looked at Gumi. "Miss zorua, please get me a pecha berry! There are some inside," she said. "Hurry!"

"Ah… okay." Gumi turned, still struggling with her new legs, and walked into the cave. It didn't take long for her to find the berries in a neat pile on some fresh leaves. She carefully rolled what she thought was a pecha berry from the pile and carefully picked it up with her mouth. She carried it back to the cave entrance and placed it next to the two teddiursa. Harvest nodded, picked up the berry, and held the berry in front of Hunter's face. He slowly reached up to take the berry, and with an energy that surprised Gumi scarfed it down in seconds.

"Ah, that was really good. I feel better already," Hunter sighed, a bit of juice still staining the fur around his mouth. "Thank you, Harvest. And… zorua?" He blinked and scrutinized Gumi closely. "Harvest, why is there a zorua in our cave?"

"I found her in Whistle Woods… she was so exhausted that she had fainted on the road," Harvest said. "She's… still a little tired, but she's a nice pokemon, I think."

Hunter frowned, but he looked away from Gumi. "No matter… I have to go back," he said, standing up. "I can't just leave our family in there." He took a few steps out of the cave, but he didn't get far before shuddering and falling to all fours. Harvest ran to his side.

"Hunter, you can't go back. You're too badly hurt already."

"But what else can we do?" Hunter said, getting up with his sister's support. "We can't leave them, and it'd take too long to send a message to the wardens…"

Harvest sucked her paw quietly, and suddenly blurted out, "What if… I went instead?"

Hunter shook his head. "It's too dangerous for you, Harvest… especially by yourself."

"I… I can handle it! And I won't be alone! Miss Zorua can help me too! Right?" she said, looking at Gumi.

"Uh…" Gumi blinked, startled by the sudden declaration. She'd just been an observer, but suddenly she was being asked to go with this teddiursa to help her save her family. She felt sorry for these pokemon, but could she really help them, when she hardly knew what was happening? Harvest was looking at her with a pleading expression, though, and even Hunter seemed desperate…

_Harvest… she helped me. I have to return the favor…_

"...I'll go with you," she finally replied. Harvest's face lit up, and she walked up to her. Before Gumi could prepare herself the teddiursa had wrapped her arms around her in a crushing hug.

"Oh, thank you! I promise you won't regret it, Miss Zorua!" Harvest cried, before realizing that the zorua was having trouble breathing and let her go. Gumi gasped for air a moment.

_I think I'm regretting it already,_ she thought, trying in vain to get her fur straight, but she gave up on that eventually. She wasn't even supposed to _have_ fur, let alone worry about how it looked. "My name isn't 'Miss Zorua', though. My name is Gumi. Uh… thanks for helping me."

Harvest smiled. "Gumi… that's a pretty name," she said, and turned to her brother. "We're going now, Hunter… please rest, okay? We'll be back with mom and Blue before you know it!"

Hunter nodded, "Okay… but please be careful, okay? I don't want to lose you too."

"We will." She turned to Gumi. "Follow me, Miss Gumi! I know the way to Honey Grove like the back of my paw!"

"O-okay."

Harvest nodded, and after waving to her brother she ran out into the forest. Gumi barely had enough time to start running after her simply so she could keep the teddiursa within sight. She could hardly comprehend what was happening. It seemed like she'd only been awake for a few minutes, and now she was going to help this pokemon rescue her family from an angry vespiquen?

_What am I getting into…?_


	2. Chapter 2

The path Harvest ran was a strange and winding one, and with the pace she was keeping it was a wonder that Gumi could keep up with her at all. At least she didn't trip over her own legs anymore. It was almost scary how quickly this was all becoming natural to her - being a pokemon, helping Harvest...

Harvest suddenly stopped, and Gumi scrambled to brake besides her. For a moment she wondered if Harvest had finally run out of energy, but then she was hit by a smell so strong and sickly sweet that it made the air itself feel sticky. Now she saw what was different about the part of the forest they stood in - all the trees around bore golden leaves, which seemed to emanate the sweet smell. They grew thickest in front of them, forming a thick barrier with only one clear entrance.

"Here we are… Honey Grove," Harvest announced.

"Well, let's go in," Gumi said, and started to walk forward, but she quickly realized that Harvest wasn't following her. She was frozen to her spot, shaking slightly as she looked towards the grove. "Come on, Harvest! We're going to go save your family, right?"

"Yeah… we are," Harvest said, her voice trembling. "But… it's scary. I've never been in Honey Grove by myself… and if Miss Vespiquen is angry, then other pokemon in the forest will be angry too. We might have to fight them."

Gumi tilted her head. "Yeah, so? You can handle it, you said. And I'm going to help you too!" _Even though I don't know how to fight,_ she thought.

Harvest nodded, gulping nervously. "I said that, but… I've never fought before. And Miss Gumi… can you actually fight? You said… that you think you're human, didn't you?"

"I _am_ human!" Gumi shouted, and Harvest flinched away from her. For a moment she felt almost abnormally angry, but the feeling soon passed, leaving Gumi feeling guilty about her sudden outburst. "But… you're right. I'm not sure if I can fight. I don't know anything about being a zorua…"

Harvest looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet. Gumi watched her, but after a minute of silence it became clear that the teddiursa wasn't going to reply. Gumi sighed and sat down, wondering what to say. "What do you want to do, then? Should we go back? Your brother said something about sending for help…"

Something in Gumi's words must have stuck true, because Harvest finally looked up. "No! We came this far… we can't go back now!" She took a deep breath and shakily exhaled. She still shook with fear, but there was determination in her eyes now. "Come on, Gumi… let's go rescue my family!"

She walked towards the golden trees and paused just before walking in, staring up at the leaves as they shimmered in the sunlight. Gumi walked up beside her, and placed a paw on Harvest's arm. The two of them made eye contact, and Gumi nodded and pulled her paw away before standing up and walking towards the thick wall of trees along Harvest.

As she entered the grove, Gumi became aware of a strange aura that seemed to permeate it. At first she thought it was simply the overwhelming sweetness of the trees, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the forest had changed into something far more menacing. She glanced at Harvest, and the look of growing worry on her face was all she need to confirm that it wasn't just in her head.

"Oh no," Harvest muttered, her eyes wide and her paw gravitating towards her mouth. "It's… it's become a mystery dungeon."

"A mystery dungeon?"

Harvest nodded, and then gave Gumi a confused look. "Don't you know what one is?"

Gumi shook her head. "I… don't think so."

Harvest frowned, and turned her attention to the forest surrounding them. "It's a place where the power of nature has gone out of control. They're dangerous mazes that never stay the same for long… and they're always filled with dangerous traps and wild pokemon."

_The power of nature? Can it really do that? _"And your family still came here?" Gumi asked incredulously.

"Miss Vespiquen is Honey Grove's warden… she's supposed to make sure that nature stays balanced here. But if she's so angry that she's attacking innocent pokemon, then that means she isn't doing her job, so it became a mystery dungeon. We have to be really careful, Miss Gumi…"

"Right…" Gumi nodded, and turned her attention to the forest around here. They were on a clear path, but around them the trees grew thickly to the point where not even a joltik would be able to squeeze through the gaps. She chanced a look behind her, but the entrance to the forest was gone, blocked off by more of the golden trees. Their only option was to keep going.

Harvest clenched her paws at her side, and then nodded to herself. "I can do this," she muttered. "I can be brave." She started walking down the tunnel of trees, her eyes firmly fixed on the path ahead of her. Gumi followed behind, her attention on the teddiursa's back and slumped shoulders.

_Can she really do this?_ she wondered, letting her attention drift to the trees around them. _Can _I_? All of this is hard to swallow at once._ Gumi looked down at herself, with her small, weak-looking body. It didn't look like she could be much help in a fight. _Maybe if I were still a human, I could help. I could… I…_

Gumi stopped in her tracks._What could I do?_ _I… can't remember._ She searched her mind desperately for the barest memory, but she couldn't even bring up an image of her own true face. She could feel her heart beating faster as panic welled up in her. _I can't remember anything about being a human… but why?_

"Miss Gumi! Watch out!"

The shout broke her free from her thoughts just in time to see a mass of sticky silk flying towards her face. She ducked, and the string shot flew harmlessly overhead, giving Gumi a chance to see where the attack came from. A pair of wurmple blocked the path, crawling slowly towards Harvest.

"Harvest, are you okay?" Gumi shouted as she ran up to the teddiursa's side. Looking at the wumple, she could understand what Harvest meant by "wild pokemon"; there was no spark of thought in their eyes, only mindless aggression towards intruders in their territory.

"I'm fine, I was just- ah!" One of the wumple interrupted her mid-sentence with a charging tackle and slammed its head into Harvest's stomach. She winced backwards, but after a moment's hesitation she returned the attack by scratching the wumple with her claws. "M-Miss Gumi, I need your help!"

Gumi blinked and hesitantly nodded. "Uh, right!" She turned to the other wurmple and tried not to look into its blank eyes. Wurmple weren't too strong, she could remember that, but their sticky silk would be a problem if it got on her. She'd have to take it out before it could do that, then… she took a deep breath, and with a yell launched herself at the wumple, scratching at it with her front feet. The wurmple cried out and fell over in a dead faint.

Harvest managed to knock out her own opponent, and she turned to Gumi with a tired smile. "I - we did it, Miss Gumi! Our first battle… you're really strong, to knock out a pokemon in one hit." She looked down at her paws, and then nodded. "If we just keep doing that, then we'll be able to reach the end of this dungeon in no time!" She sounded enthusiastic, but Gumi didn't think her logic was very sound. Wurmple weren't very strong, and the fact that Harvest considered them difficult didn't bode well for the rest of this adventure. Still, there was something satisfying about fighting and winning, even against something weak.

_At least I remember pokemon, I guess… but humans train pokemon, so I guess that's to be expected._ She started walking, and this time Harvest let her take the lead. She didn't mind it - knowing that she could fight made Gumi feel a little braver. _And I remember things about humans… just not about _me.

The path began to narrow, and the canopy above grew thick and opaque until they couldn't see the blue of the morning sky. The light that filtered through the leaves was pale and golden, as if the air itself had turned to honey. Honey Grove was aptly named, and Gumi couldn't help but slow down to enjoy the scenery.

"Honey Grove really is pretty, isn't it, Miss Gumi?" Harvest asked, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah… I've never seen anything like it."

"It's the only place in Ouza where these sweet-smelling trees grow like this. Normally they can't, but the power of nature became so strong here that they spread and became like this."

The path began to open up again, and the thick golden light gradually gave way to clear sunlight. Gumi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that it hadn't lasted longer. "What do you mean by nature's power, anyway?"

Harvest blinked. "You really don't know? Everyone knows about that…"

"I guess humans don't," Gumi replied curtly, picking up her pace as she crossed the next clearing. Not being able to remember anything was starting to get to her - especially since Harvest kept giving her worried looks, like there was something wrong with her. They traveled the forest in silence for a time, occasionally fending off attacks from wild wurmple or cherubi. None of them were particularly strong, and they fell easily to their attacks. Even Harvest seemed to be getting more confident, striking harder and faster than before.

It was Harvest who slowed down next, looking around the forest with a growing expression of familiarity. "I think I know where we are," she said, coming to a stop entirely. "This looks like the road that leads to Miss Vespiquen's home."

Gumi nodded, her ears twitching. Now that Harvest had brought it up, she could hear a faint buzzing coming from ahead. "We should keep an eye out, then. Your family might be somewhere around here."

"Okay," Harvest said, pulling close to Gumi and sucking her paw. The buzzing gradually grew louder as they progressed down the gradually narrowing path, making Gumi's ears itch. Up ahead they could see clear sunlight, and the two began to speed up. They both wanted to get out of the darkening tunnel, even if it meant running towards danger…

The two burst out of the path running into bright sunlight. Gumi skidded to a halt, while Harvest stumbled and fell face-first into the ground. As she got to her feet, Gumi took a chance to gape at the clearing they had run into.

It was full of wildflowers of all shapes and colors, many of which Gumi couldn't even begin to recognize. The scent they put off was even more overpowering than the sweet scent of the trees, filling the forest with a heady floral perfume. Combee flitted around the wildflowers, diving into the patch to collect nectar and coming out sprinkled with pollen. A massive stump stood in the center of the field, and the combee flew in and out of the top or hovered around the edges.

"Wow," Gumi whispered.

Harvest brushed herself off, looking towards the stump in the center of the field. Her breath caught suddenly, her eyes widening. There was something leaning against the stump, something that seemed like it was just a piece of wood until it moved and growled in pain.

"Mom…" Harvest said, her voice shaking. "Mom!" She broke into a run across the wildflower field, and Gumi chased after her, scattering pollen and startling combee into the air. As they got closer she realized that it was an ursaring leaning against the stump, panting heavily and protecting a small green-furred teddiursa in her arms. Harvest stopped by her side, eyes wide as she took in her mother's condition. "Mom, are you okay?"

"Harvest…?" Ursaring groaned, opening her eyes and looking down at Harvest. "What… are you doing… here?"

"I'm here to help you, mom!" Harvest put her paws on Ursaring's arms, shaking her slightly. "Hunter made it home, but when he said you were attacked, I came right away." She looked down at the smaller teddiursa wrapped in Ursaring's arms. "Is… is Blue okay?"

Ursaring slowly and painfully moved into an upright position, revealing the green teddiursa. He squeezed his eyes shut as he clung to his mother, shaking in fear but clearly uninjured. "He's fine… but Harvest, you need to get out of here. It's too dangerous... If Forsythia comes back, then…"

A thick, buzzing voice cut the air.

"Then what, Serenity? Then I will be _angry_?"

Gumi was the first to look up at the stump, where the combee massed and buzzed with worried expressions on their faces. In the center of the mass was a Vespiquen, her eyes glinting red in anger as she slowly flew down to the level of the other pokemon. A sour scent seemed to follow in her wake, a sharp contrast the sweet smells of the forest.

"More trespassers… are you also here to steal from my children?" She flew a circle around the group, her eyes passing from the family of ursine pokemon to the lone zorua staring up at her, and hissed softly. "I should not be surprised… it was a poor move to let one of you escape. Now you have acquired… _reinforcements._"

A chattering chorus of buzzing voices came from the tree stump, but Vespiquen turned sharply to face them. "Silence!" she shouted, and the combee withdrew and stopped chattering. Vespiquen glared for a moment longer, and drifted back towards the ground.

"You are trespassers and thieves, and thus you will be punished." Her eyes narrowed, and she turned to Harvest. The teddiursa pulled back against Ursaring, her body shaking as she looked up at Vespiquen's face. "Then you will understand why we have rules…"

_She's not paying attention to me,_ Gumi realized, as the gem on Vespiquen's forehead began to sparkle with light. _That means…_

Instinct took over then for Gumi. She dashed at Vespiquen's exposed back and made a flying leap. For a few long seconds she worried that her jump was too long or too short, but then her paws made contact with the hard wax of her dress. Without delay, she latched onto Vespiquen's thorax with her teeth.

"_AARGH!_" Vespiquen cried out and began to thrash and beat at Gum with her arms. Gumi held on for as long as she could before she went flying, and she landed on the ground with a yelp. She didn't stay down for long though, and came to her feet just in time to leer angrily at the Vespiquen. "Why, you insolent…"

"Harvest!" Gumi shouted, startling the teddiursa to attention. "Let's fight her! Then she'll have to let all of us go, right?"

Harvest stared incredulously at Gumi, but the look in her eyes wasn't fear. Hesitantly, she nodded, turning towards Vespiquen and bracing herself more sturdily on the ground. Gumi smirked and turned as well.

"We'll beat her together! Right, Harvest?"

"R-right!"


End file.
